Thursday, May 27, 2010

SunPower completes solar power plant for Duke Energy

SAN JOSE, USA: SunPower Corp. announced the completion of the Shelby Solar Project, a 1-megawatt solar power plant in Shelby, N.C. that is owned and operated by Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS), a Duke Energy commercial business unit.

Construction on the 10-acre plant began in March, and it is now producing clean, renewable solar power for North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1 (NCMPA1), which serves Shelby. DEGS estimates that the plant will generate enough electricity to power approximately 140 homes annually.

NCMPA1 and its 19 member organizations will buy all of the output from the Shelby Solar Project for the next 20 years under the terms of its power purchase agreement with DEGS. NCMPA1 will also receive all associated renewable energy credits (RECs) from the project.

"This agreement is a great start to the development of our solar resource portfolio," said Graham Edwards, CEO of ElectriCities, the management services organization for NCMPA1. "Solar power complements our existing power supply portfolio by providing peak power during the daylight hours, while also helping to maintain our very small carbon footprint."

SunPower designed and built the solar system using SunPower Tracker technology. The Tracker follows the sun's movement during the day, increasing sunlight capture by up to 25 percent over conventional fixed-tilt systems, while significantly reducing land use requirements.

"SunPower sun-tracking technology is fast to install and reliably delivers clean power during peak demand periods, making solar a competitively-priced choice for power plant applications," said Tom Leyden, managing director at SunPower.

"Forward-thinking organizations such as Duke Energy and their local partners are maximizing the production of emission-free, renewable solar power and the long-term benefits it delivers."

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